Construction workers of EVN HCM City working on medium-voltage power grids. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vũ

HCM CITY — As many as 7 million kWh of electricity will be added to the national grid each day once the repair of the first turbine of the Nghi Sơn 1 Thermal Power Plant is completed on June 13, easing the power use pressure on the north.

The turbine’s operation has been halted since June 5 due to technical errors, according to Võ Mạnh Hà, Director of the Nghi Sơn Thermal Power Company under the Power Generation Corporation 1 that manages and operates the Nghi Sơn 1 Thermal Power Plant, located in Tĩnh Gia district, the central province of Thanh Hóa.

Hà said the supply of coal has been ensured, so the fuel is no longer a big problem. However, given the current heatwaves, turbines have been running at full capacity, possibly causing equipment faults.

To ensure the smooth and safe production, the company has maintained round-the-clock inspections and supervisions, he added.

Earlier, the maintenance of the plant’s second turbine was also completed as scheduled.

Meanwhile, Turbine S2 of the Thái Bình 2 Thermal Power Plant in the northern province of Thái Bình has also resumed its operation after maintenance, and it is expected to generate 13 million kWh each day.

Develop power grids

The HCM City Power Corporation (EVN HCMC) invested nearly VNĐ14 trillion (US$593.2 million) to develop power grids in the city in the 2020-22 period.

Last week, Secretary of the city Party Committee Nguyễn Văn Nên had a working session with EVN HCMC about Party building and business and production performance in the past three years and the first five months of this year.

During the working session, Chairman of the Members' Council of EVN HCMC Phạm Quốc Bảo said the company met the city’s electricity demand in the 2020-22 period.

It achieved an average annual growth rate of two per cent. Its commercial power output reached 27.16 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity last year.

It expects to gain 28 billion kWh this year, a year-on-year increase of three percent.

Power loss saw an average reduction of 0.2 per cent per year, and 2.93 per cent in 2022.

According to the results of the assessment of smart grids of power companies in the world in 2022 conducted by Singapore Energy Group (SP Group), EVN HCMC reached 71.4 points to rank 47th out of 94 power companies around the world in building smart power grids.

Bảo also reported that as of May 31, the company’s Party Committee has 1,424 Party members at its 24 units.

Nên highly appreciated the efficiency in performing tasks of the company’s Party Committee, closely following the guidelines of the Party, policies, and laws of the State, and the company’s achievements in business and production, as well as contributions in the city’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company strived to ensure stable electrical supply for the whole city, especially hospitals and medical clinics, during the tough times amid the pandemic.

It also actively asked its customers to use online services and non-cash payments to prevent the spread of the disease.

He asked the company to work with Government agencies in the city, including the Department of Planning and Architecture, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, to resolve existing problems in the power sector such as power planning and land use rights for power grid construction works.— VNS